applehead
11-10-2004, 10:55 PM
really informative and interesting.
maybe eugene can add to it or dispute
some of the information given in the article.
In Japan ramen is more than a cheap cup of noodles. It is the national dish, cheaper than sushi, available everywhere and perpetually fashionable. With its rich, meaty broth, ramen is very different from other Japanese soups; in fact the dish is a relatively recent import from China. But since ramen became popular in Japan in the 1950's, it has been a national institution: quick, inexpensive street food, as closely associated with young people and budget meals as it is here. One Japanese name for instant ramen is gakusei ryori, or student cuisine. Ramen stalls cluster around train stations, and vending machines provide customized bowls.
Like American barbecue joints, ramen shops close when they run out of their key ingredient: soup, which is always carefully made on the premises, like a French stock. This only adds to the mystique.
In Japan ramen chefs can become famous by playing variations on the ramen formula, like browning the scallions that garnish the soup. Such innovations are covered in magazines like 1 Week Tokyo, which has a column devoted to ramen, and on television. Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi is often photographed at ramenyas, sitting at the counter along with the regular customers, just as our political candidates conspicuously patronize country diners. Last year an online brokerage firm, Traders Securities, inaugurated an investment fund with returns pegged to the earnings of 200 ramenyas around Japan.
In Japan there are more ramenyas than any other kind of restaurant, over 200,000 at last government count, in 2002. Each one holds only about eight customers (hence the long waits). As at a sushi bar, part of the ramen experience is sitting at the counter, watching the cooks and directing them to add a little more of this and a little less of that. The Japanese do not cook this complicated dish at home, but leave it to the ramenyas. The classic ramenya meal starts with a plate of gyoza (crisp fried pork dumplings, also of Chinese origin) and a beer, followed by a big bowl of soup and noodles, eaten with as much slurping as possible.
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/10/dining/10RAMEN.html
(the whole article)
member ID:ywreader
password:ywreader.
maybe eugene can add to it or dispute
some of the information given in the article.
In Japan ramen is more than a cheap cup of noodles. It is the national dish, cheaper than sushi, available everywhere and perpetually fashionable. With its rich, meaty broth, ramen is very different from other Japanese soups; in fact the dish is a relatively recent import from China. But since ramen became popular in Japan in the 1950's, it has been a national institution: quick, inexpensive street food, as closely associated with young people and budget meals as it is here. One Japanese name for instant ramen is gakusei ryori, or student cuisine. Ramen stalls cluster around train stations, and vending machines provide customized bowls.
Like American barbecue joints, ramen shops close when they run out of their key ingredient: soup, which is always carefully made on the premises, like a French stock. This only adds to the mystique.
In Japan ramen chefs can become famous by playing variations on the ramen formula, like browning the scallions that garnish the soup. Such innovations are covered in magazines like 1 Week Tokyo, which has a column devoted to ramen, and on television. Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi is often photographed at ramenyas, sitting at the counter along with the regular customers, just as our political candidates conspicuously patronize country diners. Last year an online brokerage firm, Traders Securities, inaugurated an investment fund with returns pegged to the earnings of 200 ramenyas around Japan.
In Japan there are more ramenyas than any other kind of restaurant, over 200,000 at last government count, in 2002. Each one holds only about eight customers (hence the long waits). As at a sushi bar, part of the ramen experience is sitting at the counter, watching the cooks and directing them to add a little more of this and a little less of that. The Japanese do not cook this complicated dish at home, but leave it to the ramenyas. The classic ramenya meal starts with a plate of gyoza (crisp fried pork dumplings, also of Chinese origin) and a beer, followed by a big bowl of soup and noodles, eaten with as much slurping as possible.
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/10/dining/10RAMEN.html
(the whole article)
member ID:ywreader
password:ywreader.